Rainbow After the Rain
by emmagrace13
Summary: When T.J. begins to question his orientation because of a certain underdog, he can't help but ask the boy to go to the park with him. What happens when the weather rains on their parade and the two boys have to dry off at T.J.'s house?


Request by Anonymous: Hey! If you still take Tyrus requests, can you write something about them getting caught in the rain, they run to dry off at TJ's house and it's all fluffy and stuff, maybe they kiss at the end ya know. I'm just thirsty for Tyrus fanfiction, ok thanks c:

This is my first Tyrus fic, and I hope you all enjoy it. Please comment below and send me more asks on Tumblr ( cyrusgoodboye). Thank you so much!

* * *

T.J.'s heart hammered in his chest. _What was he doing?_

Scratch that. He knew _what_ he was doing. He just didn't know _why_ he was doing it.

T.J. stood on the porch of the suburban home, his hand raised in a knocking motion. _Come on, T.J.. It's just a guy_ , he reminded himself. It didn't help. The fact was, Cyrus wasn't _just_ a guy, and T.J. knew it.

Over the past several weeks, Cyrus had managed to worm his way into T.J.'s normally guarded heart, and this caused the basketball player to question himself. Did he like guys? Was he just confused? Cyrus was extremely nice, after all. Maybe he was just overthinking their friendship?

T.J. wasn't sure, but he _did_ know that spending time with Cyrus always made him feel happy, and he wanted to soak up that feeling as much as possible. He didn't get a lot of opportunities to feel like that.

He breathed deeply before he forced himself to knock onto the dark oak door in front of him, and he held his breath. Footsteps. They got louder and louder until…

"Oh!" a voice said, its tone revealing its owner's obvious surprise. T.J. felt himself smile in relief. _Cyrus._ "What are you doing here, T.J.?" the boy asked, joining him outside on the porch.

"I…," he started, trailing off. Maybe this was a bad idea? An impulsive decision? _No_ , T.J. tried to reassure himself. _Just ask him._ "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the park. With me," he said confidently.

Cyrus beamed. "Sure!" he exclaimed. T.J.'s eyebrows shot up in surprise and he returned the boy's smile. He hadn't expected him to say yes so readily. "Let me just tell my parents." T.J. nodded and he stood awkwardly on the porch as he waited for Cyrus to return.

After a few minutes, Cyrus strolled towards the doorway, pausing by the entrance to pluck a bright, yellow rain jacket from the coat rack inside. As he slipped it on, T.J. noticed that the item of clothing was a tad baggy on the small-framed boy, and he grinned at the sight. "You can never be too prepared," Cyrus claimed as he noticed T.J. staring.

"Is it supposed to rain today?" T.J. asked, mirth dancing in his eyes as Cyrus struggled with the zipper.

Cyrus yanked at it, eventually getting it to zip up. "There's a 60 percent chance! I always check the weather so I can plan my outfits for the day," he explained, smoothing the over-sized raincoat over his body.

T.J. paused, absorbing this information. "So…there's a three-out-of-five chance of it raining today, right?" he asked, unsure. He almost kicked himself. _Way to look stupid in front of Cyrus,_ T.J. berated himself.

"Yep!" Cyrus confirmed with a giant smile. "That's right."

T.J. blinked in surprise. _Wow_ , he hadn't actually expected to get that right. Maybe Buffy _was_ right. Maybe he _could_ actually learn math.

"You ready?" Cyrus asked, breaking T.J. from his thoughts.

T.J. reached forward and pulled Cyrus's yellow hood over his dark-haired head. "Yeah. I'm ready."

As the two walked to the park together, T.J. made sure to pay special attention to where Cyrus was walking. He knew that the boy was accident-prone, and he didn't want to be responsible for Cyrus breaking his arm due to tripping over a tree root. With this in mind, T.J. was able to catch Cyrus just in the nick of time when he almost collided face-first with the ground.

"Are you okay?" T.J. inquired, his hands still lingering on Cyrus's sides.

"Death was staring me in the face!" Cyrus exclaimed, and T.J. laughed. "Seriously," Cyrus insisted, holding a hand to his chest. "My heart is racing!"

T.J. shook his head slightly with a small smile on his face before he withdrew his hold on the boy. "Come on, Underdog. We've only got two more blocks to go."

The two made it to the park without anymore disruptions from cracks in the sidewalk or fallen branches on the ground. When they eventually arrived, they silently made their way over to the swings; it was an unspoken agreement that that's where they would be spending their time.

"You should've brought a raincoat," Cyrus lightly chastised. "That hoodie would be soaking wet by the time we'd be able to get out of the rain," he said, hopping onto the swing seat.

"There's only a 60 percent chance," T.J. reminded him, sliding into his own seat. "Besides, I couldn't rock that look like you do," he quipped, an amused smile adorning his face.

Cyrus blushed lightly at his compliment. "You never know when it's going to rain," he countered. "And can _anyone_ rock a raincoat like me?" he asked.

"No one _I_ know," T.J. said jokingly. Despite his jesting tone, he secretly meant it. But Cyrus didn't need to know that. "So, how is it being the Space Otters' only fan?" T.J. asked, but not harshly.

"You forgot to mention _biggest_ fan," Cyrus interjected. "It's meticulous at times, but I love it. I provide them with necessary items, like electrolyte-infused water and sunblock, which my mom buys in bulk anyway since I burn so easily."

"I can't imagine you burning easily," T.J. teased, beginning to swing higher and higher.

"I have alabaster skin!" Cyrus defended. "It needs to be protected from the harsh UV rays of the sun!" T.J. laughed. Cyrus was _adorable_.

As Cyrus continued to rant about the harmful qualities of the sun, T.J. jumped out of the swing and landed gracefully onto the ground below. When Cyrus looked at him with wide eyes, T.J. raised his eyebrows. "Have you never jumped out of a swing either?" he questioned. Knowing Cyrus, probably not.

"No," he answered. "Are you suggesting that I should?" Cyrus asked incredulously. He continued to swing very slowly, making sure that he didn't go too high up.

T.J. shrugged with a suggestive smile on his face. He wanted to push Cyrus out of his safe shell a little bit. "You _did_ say you wanted to dance with danger," he said, reminding the boy about that one fateful day in the cafeteria.

"I wanted to waltz with danger," Cyrus protested. " _Not_ tango!" T.J. walked behind him and begin to push him higher and higher up as he rambled on. "Did I tell you that I once broke my thumb skateboarding?"

T.J. hummed in response. "I'm not surprised," he jested. He looked at Cyrus's death-grip on the chains, and he frowned. T.J. didn't want to make Cyrus do anything he didn't want to do. "You don't have to do this, Cyrus," T.J. told him. He stopped pushing him. "I was only making a suggestion."

Cyrus gulped. "No. I'm gonna do it," he said, determined to face his fear.

T.J.'s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he shrugged. "If you insist," he said.

He began to push Cyrus again, this time harder, and soon enough, Cyrus was about as high up as he ever had been.

"You okay up there?" T.J. asked. He really hoped that he wasn't too scared. He hadn't wanted to push him too far out of his comfort zone.

"I'm fine," Cyrus claimed, but the wobble in his voice said otherwise. "Ah!" he screamed.

"Are you sure?" T.J. asked again. Cyrus gave a shaky nod. "Okay, you ready? One…two-" Before T.J. could finish, he was cut off by a roaring roll of thunder washing over the park. Then, all at once, droplets of water began to beat down on them.

T.J. sprinted in front of Cyrus and he grabbed the chains, bringing the boy to an effective stop. "Saved by the bell," T.J. mumbled. "Or rain," he corrected.

Cyrus jumped up from the swing. " _Thank_ _goodness_!" he exclaimed with great relief.

The rain began pouring down even harder, and T.J. unthinkingly grabbed Cyrus's hand, nearly yelling to be heard over the loud downpour. "My house isn't too far from here!"

Cyrus nodded, and gripped T.J.'s hand tightly as the two navigated their way to T.J.'s house, running as fast as they could (well, as fast as Cyrus could manage, that is). When they finally reached his house, T.J. ripped the door open as a flash of lightning struck not too far away. In a whirl, he slammed the front door shut behind them and they both heaved against it, their hands still connected.

After they both caught their breath, T.J. said, "I guess the odds weren't in our favor, were they?"

Cyrus laughed, still panting. "No they were not."

As they disconnected their hands, the lights began to flicker, and another flash of lightning flared outside. Suddenly, before either of them could move, all of the lights went dark.

"Of course the power has to go out when my parents are gone," T.J. groaned. As if to see if the storm was playing tricks on him, T.J. tested a light switch by flicking it on and off. Nothing. "I'll go get some towels so we can dry off," T.J. suggested with a sigh. He began to walk down the long hallway to the bathroom. He had grabbed a few when he noticed that Cyrus was trailing behind him.

"Sorry," Cyrus apologized sheepishly. "I didn't want to be alone. The thunder and lightning scare me," he explained, smiling shyly. T.J. bet that the boy was blushing, but it was too dark to tell.

T.J. handed him a fluffy towel. "It's cool," he said. "Can you stay here for just a second? I have to change."

Cyrus's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Change wha- oh, never mind. I see what you mean." T.J. was sure that Cyrus was blushing now. "Go ahead, I'll be fine for a few minutes." He saw the boy switch on his flashlight, and T.J. noticed that he had already taken off his raincoat.

"Okay, I'll try to be quick," T.J. promised, ruffling Cyrus's slightly damp hair as he walked past (he couldn't help himself). Once he made it to his room, he hurriedly peeled off his soaked hoodie and jeans before he switched into a pair of comfy sweatpants and a T-shirt. He made sure to turn on his phone's flashlight before returning back to the bathroom.

"Cyrus?" he called out, surveilling the hallway with his flashlight.

"In here," he called out, and T.J. turned an abrupt corner at the sound of his voice, coming face-to-face with Cyrus.

"Hi," Cyrus mumbled, staring up at him with his innocent brown eyes. T.J. felt his voice get stuck in his throat. Cyrus was so _close_ to him. For a fleeting moment, T.J.'s eyes flickered down to Cyrus's lips before they shot back up to his face. _What if-_ T.J. began to ask, but he cut himself off. _No. Don't even think about it._

"Hey," T.J. murmured back, lowering his flashlight. Luckily, there was enough light streaming from both of their phones for them to see each other.

The two continued to keep a steady gaze before Cyrus broke the silence. "What's happening?" he blurted out. He was flustered. "Why are we staring at each other?"

"I dunno," T.J. said, unthinkingly moving closer. "Do you want me to stop?"

Cyrus's breath caught in his throat. "I…," he started, trailing off. "No," he confirmed. T.J. was surprised with the boy's answer. _No? Does that mean…_

T.J. inched closer to the boy, and when Cyrus didn't flinch away, he cupped the boy's cheek. Was this actually happening? T.J. could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

 _Come on, T.J.,_ he told himself. _Just do it._ With those words, T.J. swooped down and closed the gap between them.

He saw fireworks behind his eyelids. _He was kissing Cyrus Goodman!_ If he hadn't known his feelings for the boy before, he certainly did now. Cyrus tentatively pressed his lips back against his own, and T.J. felt his heart leap out of his chest. _Cyrus Goodman was kissing him back!_ T.J. caressed Cyrus's cheek with his thumb gently as Cyrus's hands reached up to the nape of his neck.

When they finally broke apart, T.J.'s eyes fluttered open, and he looked around in disbelief. Around them, the lights had magically switched back on. Now able to see the boy in front of him more easily, T.J.'s eyes focused back on Cyrus, who had complete shock written on his face.

"Wow," Cyrus said, dumbstruck. T.J. agreed; he was speechless himself. "What just happened?" Cyrus squeaked in disbelief. "You…and me…we…we _kissed_."

T.J.'s stomach churned nervously. Did Cyrus regret what happened? "Does that scare you?"

" _Everything_ scares me," Cyrus pointed out. "But I've ever only told Buffy and Andi that…"

T.J. raised an eyebrow. "That what?"

Cyrus took a deep breath. "That I…I like boys, T.J.."

T.J. let out a sigh of relief. He'd assumed as much (Cyrus _had_ kissed him back, after all), but hearing Cyrus say it made it easier to admit out loud himself. "So do I," he confessed. Just saying the words made T.J. feel like a weight had been lifted off of his chest.

"I kind of figured," Cyrus told him, a smile on his face.

"Oh really?" T.J. asked with a grin.

"I mean, you _did_ just kiss me, after all," Cyrus teased, and T.J. smiled even wider.

"It's hard not to," T.J. said, and Cyrus blushed at his words.

"So, what does this mean?" Cyrus asked nervously. "I mean… _us_."

"I don't know," T.J. answered truthfully. "But we could keep this between us for a while," he suggested. "Would that be okay with you?"

"I don't know how I'd keep it from Buffy and Andi," Cyrus admitted. "Can I tell them?"

T.J. snorted. "I can't imagine how Buffy would react," he said, grinning. "But, yeah, I don't care. I just really, _really_ like you, Cyrus."

"I really like you too, T.J.," Cyrus answered, and the two shared a smile.

When T.J. walked Cyrus home later that day, he made sure to zip up Cyrus's raincoat for him and give him a quick peck on the lips before putting on his own rain-repellent jacket that Cyrus had insisted on him wearing. After all, you never know when it's going to rain.


End file.
